Mum's Homemade Lasagna

Mum's Homemade Lasagna

A classic. One of my all-time favourite meals, and one that I love to cook over and over again. The recipe that I use is my mother's, but I've tweaked it a little bit every time that I cook it. It's so good that I made it so often whilst I was at uni, and I just put the extra portions into the freezer to have another night when I couldn't be bothered to cook (that was rare though). It has become a staple of mine during the lockdown, and everyone who is eating it has loved it.

My mother's recipe requires a homemade white sauce to put amongst the layers but after many failed attempts and sometimes hours of trying to perfect the sauce, I now opt to use Dolmio's own White Sauce Jars. They may not be as good as homemade, but it saves so much hassle and it's still delicious. Another key ingredient that I was taught, is Tomato Ketchup. Adding this in with the tomato puree just gives it more of a tomatoey kick. I love it!

Additionally, if you want the lasagna to feel a little bit healthier, swap the lasagna sheets out for thinly sliced layers of Butternut Squash! This is from a Joe Wicks recipe and it tasted amazing.

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

• 2 Medium Brown Onions
• 3 Medium Carrots
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• A glug of Vegetable oil
• 500g Beef Mince (can substitute for Quorn Mince if you fancy)
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Ketchup
• A few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce
• A large glass of Red wine
• 500ml Beef Stock (again, can substitute for veg stock if you're making it vegetarian)
• 2 Bay leaves
• About 12-15 Lasagna sheets (the amount depends on the size of the dish you're using)
• 2 Jars of Dolmio White Sauce
• Grated cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Finely dice the onions, carrots and fry in a deep pan with the oil. After the onions
have become soft and translucent (should take about 5-10 minutes), add the garlic.
Don't add the garlic too soon, as it can burn easily.

2. Add the mince to the pan, and fry it whilst breaking it up. Once the mince is all
brown, add the puree, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Cook out the tomato puree
for a couple of minutes then add the red wine and cook until it's reduced.

3. Once the red wine has reduced, add the beef (or vegetable) stock and the bay leaves. Cook this for about 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced, but you don't want it to be too dry! If it does look too dry, then top up with a little bit of boiling water.

4. About 5-10 minutes before the sauce is ready, add your lasagna sheets to some warm (not boiling) water and let them soak.

5. Then layer sauce, lasagna sheets, white sauce until your lasagna is complete.
I usually try and do three layers of everything, just to make it look a bit better so don't
use up too much sauce on the first layer!

6. Finally, top with grated cheese and put it into a preheated oven (220 degrees fan oven) for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve this with some garlic bread or a simple salad.

Edit: This is not my lasagna, I just keep forgetting to take a picture when I make it...